The youngster said he always wanted to be more aggressive than his idol.
Following a superb win against five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Mumbai Indians (MI), Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) spin sensation Digvesh Rathi hailed the influence of Sunil Narine on his bowling.
The 25-year-old spinner showcased his skills against the towering batting line-up of Mumbai Indians by giving away just 21 runs from his four overs and got the crucial breakthrough by dismissing Naman Dhir.
While all other LSG have conceded at a rate of 10 RPO, Rathi’s spell single-handedly disturbed MI’s batting plans and swung the match in the hosts’ favour. Him restricting Tilak Varma’s innings to 25 off 23 balls also prompted MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene to retire him. MI sent Mitchell Santner instead.
Rathi had made his T20 debut in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024 for Delhi’s senior team. He said that he had tried to bowl like Narine and also maintain his composure on the field.
“I’m really enjoying it. I like to get batters out. I watched Sunil Narine bowl and from that time I took to bowling. I want to make my mindset more attacking, want to be like Narine, on how he stays calm even during pressure situations,” he said in the post-match presentation.
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Rathi was helped with his translation by captain Rishabh Pant. He also spoke about his plans to dismiss Naman, who was looking dangerous with 46 off 24 balls and adding 69 runs for the third wicket alongside Suryakumar Yadav.
“Before that over, I spoke to you (Pant), we wanted a mid-wicket but we did not have one, he looked to play through there and that move really worked for us,” Rathi said to Pant.
It was a welcome win for LSG, who suffered a deflating eight-wicket loss against Punjab Kings. They were also boosted by the news of pacer Mayank Yadav returning to action by next week.
Mumbai Indians will next face Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday. They are currently seventh in the table with three losses and one win against Kolkata Knight Riders.
LSG will be off to Kolkata for their next match on Tuesday. Rishabh Pant’s men are currently sixth in the IPL 2025 table with two wins and losses apiece.
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